Dark Sunshine
To Brighty, A loyal and funny friend. Airfeather The wind was as cold as an icy claw, swirling through the forest in a whirl of ice and frozen fire. It licked you to the very core like a queen, but so much fiercer. Frost shone on all the grass, bushes and bracken, but it seemed to glare back. Everything living has shriveled away, the prey into their underground nests, the plants crumpled and crisp like ice. This is how the world looks to me as we trekked through the forest, scouring the forest for the last prey that's left. After five honey sweet warm months of greenleaf, StarClan has decided to curse us with leafbare. 'Airfeather,' Lionstripe whispered in my ear. 'Think we can catch that?' He flicked his ears towards a scrawny dormouse, scraping through the snow beneath a beech tre for the last nuts. I nodded. 'You go round that way.' I gestured with my tail towards a strong looking oak tree a few fox lengths away. 'you can cut off its path if it escapes.' The ginger warrior dashed away, and I stalked forward, keeping the bramble sharp wind blowing towards my muzzle, brushing my whiskers backwards. Thankfully, my pelt is white, which blends in well with this snow covered world. I kept my tail low, so that it only just brushed the ground, than pounced, fast as a leopard. The mouse let out a squeak of suprise, then began to dart away, straight into the outstretched claws of Lionstripe. 'Nice,' he praised. 'Let's get back to the camp.' 'What about the rest of the prey?' I protested. 'That mouse is hardly enough for the queens and elders.' Lionstripe sighed. 'We've been hunting since sunrise, and it's sunhigh now. We've been out too long. Get moving, before our tails turn to ice too.' I mewed an agreement, suddenly feeling the cold. The mouse did look big, but it had lots of chesnut coloured fur and not much meat. Shaking the flakes of snow off my long and matted pelt, I followed after Lionstripe, my mood as low as the bottom of the pond. ---- 'Airfeather!' Earthcloud called from the fresh kill pile. I'd added the mouse, but it had looked even tinier next to Ashpaw's sparrow. Cocky little 'paw ''I muttered in my head. The new apprentice had only been training for a moon, and even Bluegaze, the Clan deputy praised him like he was a gift from StarClan 'I caught it near the Stream,' Ashpaw was boasting as the other apprentices listented, ears wide, their eyes shining like little moons. 'It was just about to fly off above me when-' He stood up on his hind paws, reaching up with his front paws in a rather impressive swipe. 'And I snagged it by its wing. Ivyfleet said it was the best catch she'd seen an apprentice do, ever!' 'Even better than Stormstar was?' Sunpaw asked. 'Probably,' Ashpaw gloated. Trying to block out the apprentices babbling, I sat down opposite Earthcloud, who was chewing and tearing her piece of sparrow faster than a wolf. 'Ashpaw was pretty fast to catch this,' she admitted. None of us, Earthcloud, Waterpelt, Firewhisker and I, liked Ashpaw. I always thought he looked like someone I knew; when I looked into his eyes I could always see a shadow behind them, and I would know who he was,but my mind refused to label him. I tore off a small chunk of sparrow, and began to eat eagerly. Earthcloud was right, it was tasty. Waterpelt, who was sitting beside me, was chewing, but occasionally, chunks of prey would fly out of his mouth. It wasn't very nice to watch. Waterpelt saw my expression and looked at me a little guiltily. 'Sorry,' he grunted. 'not quite used to chewing with the chew yet.' He gave me a playful nudge with his shoulder. Ever since breaking his jaw whilst trying to capture Echo, Waterpelt had been putting on a brave face. He knew it hurt, but he tried to pull through. His jaw still looked odd, twisted like a tree branch, his front bottom tooth sticking out over his muzzle. I butted him back, and licking the last traces of sparrow from my jaws (it was tasty) I got up and stretched. 'I'm back out on patrol now,' I mewed, licking a paw and drrawing it over my ears. 'But I'm so tired! None of us are allowed to rest right now.' I scowled as I glanced over to where Ashpaw, Bluegaze and Secretwish were calling me. 'I'm going to go hunting. There's so little prey. But at least I don't have to go with him,' Earthcloud replied, thinking of Ashpaw. 'See you later,' I called, dashing over to the patrol group. ---- I desperatly tried to block the cold and my ears. Dusk was gathering, and my patrol was heading back to the camp. Ashpaw was still talking like an irritatating bird that sings at dawn. 'And then Spiderpaw writhed underneath me, but I kept my paw at his throat. You know how big he is, he's nearly twelve moons old now..' He was in the middle of yet another 'heroic' anecdote, and if I didn't stop him now, I knew I'd join StarClan early. 'Ashpaw, please be quieter,' I mewed tiredly. 'You'll scare away all the prey from here to the top of the hill.' Ashpaw opened his mouth to retort, his dark eyes flashing, but Secretwish quickly swept her tail over his jaws. 'Be quiet both of you,' she growled. 'Bluegaze and I are going to scout ahead for prey. Look out for any yourselves.' She darted behind a bush and then she was gone. As much as I wanted to leave a long scar down Ashpaw's back, I sank my claws deep into the frozen ground and kept walking. It had begun to snow, the star shaped flakes whirling around like a current, drowning the forest in snow. After half a skylength of walking, it was up to Ashpaw's belly fur, and I'd completely lost Bluegaze and Secretwish's scents. 'Let's stop,' I panted. 'No!' Ashpaw snorted. 'A good warrior is never tired, we must keep walking.' 'Walking where?' I replied back dryly. 'If I'm lost, then so must you be.' 'Mouse brain!' Ashpaw spat, reaching up to cuff me hard on the ear. 'Ow!' I moaned. 'That hurt! And if you know where we are, then lead us back to camp.' 'I will,' Ashpaw crowed, and began to wade forward. I sighed, and plunged in after him. It was beginning to get dark, and my legs felt like sticks of wood, my paws numb with cold. 'Ashpaw!' I howled, as another flurry of snow clouded my vision. 'Stop! We'll never make it back in this! Let's find shelter under a bush and we'll keep going in the morning.' The young tom spun round, glaring at me. 'I know the way,' but his voice was tinged with uncertaincy. I felt my shoulder fur rising. 'We'll keep going in the morning,' I repeated. 'Now you can keep going, but I'm staying here.' I began to make my way towards a sheltered bush. 'It will be a blessing from StarClan if you get lost anyway, worthless piece of fox dung,' I muttered. I obviously wasn't quiet enough though, because I heard a mrrow of anger, and then thorn sharp claws sand into my tail tip. 'Ow!' I shrieked. 'Get off, Ashpaw!' 'You're the piece of fox dung, you worthless cat, with your powers and abilities, and you chose that silly ginger furball over me.' 'Great StarClan, Ashpaw!' I gasped. 'How in the forest do you know that?' Gathering my last shreds of energy, I shook him off, then slumped to the ground with tiredness. Ashpaw strutted over, then struck a paw over my muzzle. I tasted blood, but I ignored it. I felt woozy, almost like I'd just eaten a poppy seed. Then I looked up into Ashpaw's eyes, and it finally clicked. The dark eyes. The hunger for power. My distrustingness of him 'Oh Echo,' I groaned. 'Why didn't you die?' Ashpaw-or Echo-I still couldn't tell in my state of semi-consciousness-thrust his muzzle into my face, so I could see right into the depths of those dark, dark eyes, shadows. 'Do you remember how I came to StormClan as Ashpaw?' he asked me fiercely. I nodded. ---- ''It was a sunny greenleaf day, the sun tickling the trees with a feather of sunlight. I was dozing in the sun, Friewhisker, Earthcloud and Waterpelt curled up beside me. It was half a moon since we'd been made warriors. There was a shriek from outside the camp wallls. I raised my head sleepily, wanting to see what all the commosion was about. It was Mossyfoot yowling. She'd gone out for a walk a few moments ago, and I don't think it had been long since she'd left the camp, wanting to stretch her legs. Her kits, Flintkit and Cloudkit were very hard to look after as they were very restless. As Mossyfoot walked in, I gasped when I saw what was dangling from her jaws. It was a dark grey kit, the clour of ash. It was thin and wailing, and from the way his tongue kept on passing over his lips, I supposed he was very dehydrated. '' '''What happened?' Featherstar asked, looking as astoundedly at the kit as we all wer I was near the training clearing when I heard this pitiful mewing. It was him' Mossyfoot angled her ears towards the little scrap of fur. 'He has rogue scent on him, and I think he's been abonded by his mother. And by his state, he's been alone for a while. Can we keep him? I can't leave him to die.' Featherstar hesitated. 'Alright,' he agreed finally. It gives us more warriors.' What will you call him?' Darkfoot, my father, mewed.'' '''Ashkit,' Mossyfoot mewed. 'Because his pelt is the colour of ash. And the kit wailed again, and that's when I saw his eyes. So dark, so hollow. They reminded me of someone but I didn't know who. Shaking off my doubts, I walked over to greet the newest member of the Clan, but my suspicions were never far from my mind. ---- And who I saw now was no longer a starved, whining kit but a strong young apprentice, his ear fur still slightly downy and soft from the nursery. 'It was you,' I said, my voice trembling. 'I never trusted you.' A question popped ino my head. 'What are you here for? Deathstar is gone. DarkClan is gone. There is nothing left for you.' 'So you think,' Echo hissed, his claws sliding out. 'I made a promise. And I haven't fufilled it yet.' Then I remembered what Deathstar had told Earthcloud as he died: Beware the dying echoes...the masked one.. He's here to destroy us. The Elements... THE END Category:Elements (Series)